Roberto Barrero, 46, a naturalized American citizen originally from Bolivia, was sentenced last week by Senior Judge B. Avant Edenfield to 15 years in prison for his role in a far-reaching conspiracy whose goals included smuggling firearms and stolen cars to Bolivia, smuggling contraband cigarettes to New York, trafficking cocaine and laundering millions of dollars of drug proceeds.

The organization was investigated as part of Operation Pulaski, a long-term undercover operation that resulted in federal charges against 45 defendants and the seizure of 188 firearms, more than 200 grams of heroin, more than 3 kilograms of cocaine and nine stolen vehicles, according to the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia.

U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver said, “Operation Pulaski was an innovative effort to fight organized criminal activity that impacts not just South Georgia, but the entire East Coast and foreign countries, as well. Smugglers, gun runners, drug traffickers and other criminals should take this sentence as a warning signal that the Port of Savannah is not available to them as a gateway to commit their crimes within the United States of America. If they attempt to use our ports in this way, they will be prosecuted and punished.”

“Yesterday’s sentence is a direct result of ATF and our law enforcement partners working on the frontline of preventing violent crime by leveraging technology and utilizing our expertise, resulting in a safer community for the citizens of Savannah and the surrounding area,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer. “Removing firearms and the criminals who illegally use and traffic firearms from the street makes a positive impact and contributes to stabilizing those areas, which are fraught with criminal activity.”

Barrero was convicted of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, to transport stolen vehicles across state lines, to possess untaxed cigarettes and to commit money laundering. He was also convicted of carrying a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking.

At sentencing, Edenfield noted that Barrero was responsible for trafficking more than 50 firearms, nine stolen vehicles, 2,370 cartons of untaxed cigarettes and 935.15 grams of cocaine. He also conspired to launder between $2 million and $18 million in drug proceeds. He obliterated the serial numbers from 19 of the firearms to avoid their detection by law enforcement.

Finally, the court noted that Barrero traded 23 firearms for two stolen cars, attempted to convert some semiautomatic firearms to fully automatic machine guns and recruited multiple individuals to participate in the conspiracy.

Barrero was also ordered to pay $130,571.32 in restitution and a $200 special assessment. Once he is released from prison, he will serve five years of supervised release. Tarver noted that there is no parole in the federal system.

Barrero and six of his codefendants were convicted after pleading guilty to various counts of a 52-count Superseding Indictment returned by the Grand Jury of the Southern District of Georgia on July 10, 2013.

Two additional codefendants were charged in the indictment, but have not been apprehended.

The case was the result of a long-term undercover investigation conducted by the ATF, in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Revenue, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Heaps Ippolito prosecuted the case.

Police: Savannah man shoots finger with stolen gun

A 23-year-old Savannah man was arrested Monday afternoon after police said he accidently shot himself in his finger with a gun that had been stolen.

Alajuawan Williams, of the 1100 block of East 31st Street, was taken to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment after the incident just before 3 p.m., said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

Violent Crimes Detectives took him into custody after he was released from the hospital upon determining the firearm had been stolen.

Williams was charged with theft by receiving stolen property.

Downtown Precinct patrol officers had responded to the area of Price Street and Duffy Lane where Williams reported he was checking the weapon to assure it was not loaded when he accidentally pulled the trigger, Miller said.

Miller said police are continuing to investigate the incident.

Traffic signal outage scheduled

Contractor for the Georgia Department of transporation will be modifying the traffic signal at the intersection of Ga. 204 Spur/Diamond Causeway/Whitefield Avenue and Ferguson Avenue. The traffic signal outage is scheduled to start around 10 a.m. today. This work is expected to take two hours, but if a technical issue should arise, it could possibly last until 3 p.m.

This temporary traffic signal outage is necessary for the contractor to switch power bases for the traffic signals at this intersection. Police will be utilized to direct traffic through the work zone and motorists should expect delays.

This is a work zone and extreme caution is necessary. Motorists are advised to reduce speeds as they travel through this and all work zones. Message signs, barrels and/or cones will be utilized to alert the public of the upcoming changes. Drivers should be aware that personnel and equipment will be operating in close proximity to travel lanes.